The Unanswered Question

The varied forms of Leonard Bernstein's musical creativity have been recognized and enjoyed by millions. These lectures, Mr. Bernstein's most recent venture in musical explication, will make fascinating reading as well. Virgil Thomson says of the lectures: "Nobody anywhere presents this material so warmly, so sincerely, so skillfully. As musical mind-openers they are first clas...

The varied forms of Leonard Bernstein's musical creativity have been recognized and enjoyed by millions. These lectures, Mr. Bernstein's most recent venture in musical explication, will make fascinating reading as well. Virgil Thomson says of the lectures: "Nobody anywhere presents this material so warmly, so sincerely, so skillfully. As musical mind-openers they are first class; as pedagogy they are matchless." Mr. Bernstein considers music ranging from Hindu ragas through Mozart and Ravel, to Copland, suggesting a worldwide, innate musical grammar. Folk music, pop songs, symphonies, modal, tonal, atonal, well-tempered and ill-tempered works all find a place in these discussions. Each, Mr. Bernstein suggests, has roots in a universal language central to all artistic creation. Using certain linguistic analogies, he explores the ways in which this language developed and can be understood as an aesthetic surface. Drawing on his insights as a master composer and conductor, Mr. Bernstein also explores what music means below the surface: the symbols and metaphors which exist in every musical piece, of whatever sort. And, finally, Mr. Bernstein analyzes twentieth century crises in the music of Schoenberg and Stravinsky, finding even here a transformation of all that has gone before, as part of the poetry of expression, through its roots in the earth of human experience. These talks, written and delivered when Leonard Bernstein was Charles Eliot Norton Professor of Poetry at Harvard University, are the newest of the author's literary achievements. In addition to a distinguished career as conductor, pianist, and composer, Mr. Bernstein is the recipient of many television Emmys for the scripts of his Young People's Concerts, Omnibus programs, and others, and is the author of "The Infinite Variety of Music" and "The Joy of Music," for which he received the Christopher Award.

伦纳德·伯恩斯坦（Leonard Bernstein，1918—1990）

举世闻名的指挥巨匠，古典乐大师。曾任纽约爱乐乐团音乐总监，并带领该团进入黄金时代，指挥过全球主要管弦乐团，所获荣誉众多。伦纳德·伯恩斯坦对于人类艺术的贡献，绝不仅仅在于作曲、演奏、指挥领域，曾通过一系列电视节目向大众普及古典音乐，力图拆除古典乐与公众之间的高墙。留下了一大批宝贵的录音和录像遗产。

庄加逊

译者，毕业于上海交通大学，外国文艺理论硕士。译有《乐之边园：格伦·古尔德文集》《科普兰论音乐》《萨蒂音乐涂鸦》《音乐的极境：萨义德古典乐评集》《为什么是马勒？》《激情精神：阿尔玛·马勒的一生》等，编译有《雅纳切克私信集》，著有《陌上花来：回归与远行》。常年为《三联爱乐》等杂志撰文。